This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 9-298769, filed Oct. 30, 1997, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a portable information device such as a mobile NC (Network Computer) and a data transfer designation method.
Recently, personal computers have been used in various forms along with the downsizing of computers and the development of communication techniques. For example, an NC has been developed on the premise that a computer as a client is to be connected to a network.
In this NC, the client computer has a minimum arrangement having a communication function of controlling communication via the network. If necessary, the client computer downloads an operating system, an application program, and various data from a server computer (hereinafter referred to as a server), executes operations, uploads data prepared by the user, and stores it in the server.
When a client NC is a portable information device, it is sometimes disconnected from the server. Before disconnection, the client NC must transfer, to the server, all data to be uploaded thereto.
In the conventional NC, however, the client user can recognize operations only up to preparation of data by an application, and cannot recognize whether the prepared data is uploaded to the server, is still held by the client, or is being uploaded. For this reason, the user may disconnect the terminal from the network before or during upload of the data to the server.